Jurassic World Director and Official Site Reveal More Details

Earlier this week, Universal Pictures and Legendary Pictures debuted the first trailer for Jurassic World and though it gave us a good idea of what to expect from the film, it also raised some interesting questions, such as: Why make a brand new dinosaur? How many sharks does a Mosasaurus eat in a day? Has Chris Pratt trained the Velociraptors to be his buddies? Where is the iconic Tyrannosaurus Rex?

Speaking with Empire, director Colin Trevorrow elaborated on the film and the trailer and answered many of these questions and more! Read on for the details.

“This new creation is what gave me a reason to tell another Jurassic Park story. We have the most awe-inspiring creatures to ever walk the Earth right in front of us, but for some reason that’s not enough. We’re always hungry for the next thing, and those who profit from it are always looking to feed that hunger. The focus groups want something bigger than a T-Rex. And that’s what they get.”

Trevorrow went on to talk about the Mosasaurus, which he says came out of a pitch meeting with producers Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall who hadn’t considered an aquatic dinosaur.

“I thought it would be cool if we had this massive animal and the park used one of our most fearsome modern predators as food. There could be a whole other facility where they used shark DNA to mass-produce them to feed the bigger beast. It’s a bonkers idea, but I’m comfortable going to Crazytown, because I used to live there when I was a kid.”

The final shots of the trailer suggest that Chris Pratt’s character, Owen, has trained the Velociraptors of Jurassic World into helping him hunt whatever dinosaur was “cooked up in the lab,” but Trevorrow says it’s more complicated than that.

“Owen’s relationship with the raptors is complicated. They aren’t friends. These animals are nasty and dangerous and they’ll bite your head off if you make the wrong move. But there are men and women out there today who have forged tenuous connections with dangerous predators. That’s interesting territory to me.”

Finally, Trevorrow was asked if we’ll be seeing the iconic T-Rex in the film, to which he replied: “You bet your ass you will.”Hold on to your butts.

In addition to Trevorrow’s interview, the official site for Jurassic World has been updated since the trailer’s launch to include new details about the actual park, including wait times for the attractions, photos of the main street/gift shop/petting zoo, a guided video of Isla Nublar’s own Hilton, and more that will be unlocked as we get closer to the film’s release. Fans will also notice a number of major and obscure references to the original Jurassic Park hidden within the site, such as the restaurant Winston’s (named for effects maestro Stan Winston, who developed the animatronics for the series) of which the top item on the menu is the Chilean Sea Bass (the same meal the group ate before venturing onto the tour in the original film). Plus, there’s a meet-and-greet with the venerable Mr. DNA! Go exploring on the official site by clicking here.

Jurassic World will debut in 2D, 3D, and IMAX theaters on June 12, 2015.